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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · rush · bowl · field · pitcher · cold · fan · lie

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. rush — hurry
  8. lie — to recline
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — a subject
  12. band — a music group
  13. field — for sport
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. band — a ring
  24. fan — to cool the air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com